is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division. A professional since 2013, he is most notable for his time in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC).

Early life

Born to a Japanese father and Taiwanese mother, Sato grew up in

Shinjuku , officially called Shinjuku City, is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) as well as the Tokyo Metropol ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, with his parents and older brother. He was a big fan of reading comics just like many other Japanese children. However one day, his older brother accidentally threw them all out. Sato says he cried the whole day until the following day his father felt very bad and came home from work with a new comic based on a kid becoming a judo champion. This then inspired Sato to pursue Judo and he used to train at the local police station.

Mixed martial arts career

Japan

Sato started his MMA career fighting in various promotions in Japan. Sato then fought for

Pancrase is a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Tokyo. It was founded in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the An ...

and

Deep Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary ...

promotions in Japan. He earned a Pancrase title shot but lost to Glaico França. Sato earned the opportunity to fight in the UFC after beating former UFC fighter Matt Vaile.

Ultimate Fighter Championship

Sato signed with the UFC on April 2, 2019, and made his UFC debut on April 27, 2019, against Ben Saunders at UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson. After being tagged by Saunders early, Sato won the fight by knockout. Sato's next Fight was against

Belal Muhammad Belal Muhammad (born July 9, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Welterweight Cha ...

on September 7, 2019, in the United Emirates at

UFC 242 ''UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier '' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on September 7, 2019 at The Arena, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event mar ...

. Sato lost by rear-naked choke in the third round. Sato was scheduled to face

Maki Pitolo Maki Ikaika Maleko Pitolo (born November 24, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Pitolo has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and B ...

UFC Fight Night 168 ''UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 168'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 26'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 23, 2020, at Spark Arena in Aucklan ...

on February 23, 2020. However, Pitolo was unable to make weight and the bout was scrapped from the card. Sato was scheduled to face Ramiz Brahimaj on June 27, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker but the fight was scratched due to one of Brahimaj's cornermen testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Two days before the fight, Sato's opponent was switched to UFC newcomer

Jason Witt Jason Witt (born November 7, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial artist who last competed in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Witt started training around 2009 with his uncle ...

. Sato won the fight via knock out in 48 seconds in round one. Sato was scheduled to face Daniel Rodriguez on August 22, 2020, at UFC on ESPN 15. However, despite making the required weight, Sato was not cleared to fight by

Nevada State Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxer ...

medical personnel and was removed from the card. Later, Sato revealed that a skin infection in his torso was the reason for the removal. As the last fight of his contract, Sato faced Miguel Baeza on November 28, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Smith vs. Clark. He lost the fight via second round arm-triangle choke. Sato returned after more than a one-year hiatus and faced Gunnar Nelson, replacing injured Cláudio Silva, on 19 March 2022 at UFC Fight Night 204. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Sato faced Bryan Battle on August 6, 2022, at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill. He lost the fight via knockout in round one. Sato faced Themba Gorimbo on May 20, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 223. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. On June 8, it was announced that Sato was not extended a new contract and was no longer on the UFC roster.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 15–9 , Christopher Alvidrez , TKO (punches) , XFC Young Guns 7-8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, , Deerfield, Florida, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–8 , Jang Yun-seong , Decision (unanimous) , Z-Fight Night 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Goyang Goyang (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's Satellite city, satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, w ...

, South Korea , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–7 , Themba Gorimbo , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Hill , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–5 , Gunnar Nelson , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:48 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–3 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:55 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 , Ben Saunders , TKO (punches and elbows) , UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:18 ,

Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 97,335 at the time of the 2020 census. History Early history In ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Matt Vaile , TKO (punches) , Pancrase 300 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:35 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–2 , Glaico França , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Pancrase 297 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 1:15 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Masayuki Hamagishi , TKO (elbows and punches) , GRANDSLAM 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:59 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Akihiro Murayama , TKO (punches) , Pancrase 292 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:52 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Kenta Takagi , TKO (punches) , Pancrase 289 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:15 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Anton Radman , TKO (knee) , Pancrase 286 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:43 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Eric Michael Fought , Decision (split) , Pancrase 273 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , Kenta Takagi , TKO (punch) , Pancrase 269 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Yusaku Tsukumo , TKO (doctor stoppage) , DEEP 72 Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:09 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Vyron Phillips , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase 265 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Hidetora , TKO (punches) , DEEP DREAM Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:21 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Yasuaki Miura , TKO (punch) , TTF Challenge 03 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:29 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Genpei Hayashi , TKO (punches) , Pancrase 260 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:51 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Makoto Kawawa , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Pancrase 258 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:36 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Joe Proctor , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Pancrase Bayside Fight 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:31 ,

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

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External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sato, Takashi Living people 1990 births Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Welterweight mixed martial artists Japanese male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Japanese male judoka Japanese people of Taiwanese descent Senshu University alumni Martial artists from Tokyo 21st-century Japanese sportsmen